Load carriers for use by parachutists and others



May 12, 1964 'r. E. GRAY 3,132,779

LOAD CARRIERS FOR USE BY PARACHUTISTS AND OTHERS Filed Nov. 1, 1961 3Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

Inventor y 12, 1964 T. E. GRAY 3,132,779

LOAD CARRIERS FOR USE BY PARACHUTISTS AND OTHERS Filed Nov. 1, 1961 3Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5. FIG. 6.

J44 qawd% Inventor ttarneys May 12, 1964 T. E. GRAY 2,77

LOAD CARRIERS FOR usr: BY PARACHUTISTS AND OTHERS Filed Nov. 1, 1961 3Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. /0

INVENTOR. EEf/Vt'f .Z7JN/A/ /aqy EA/EY-S United States Patent 3,132,779LOAD CARRIERS FOR USE BY PARACHUTISTS AND OTHERS Terence Edwin Gray,Cardifi, Wales, assignor, by mesne assignments, to G. Q. ParachuteCompany Limited, Woking, Surrey, England Filed Nov. 1, 1961, Ser. No.149,411 Claims priority, application Great Britain Nov. 7, 1960 Claims.((Il. 224) This invention relates to load carriers for parachutists andothers comprising a multiple-strap or other pack arrangement for holdingtogether a number of articles as a single package or unit and which hasmeans for securing it detachably as an upper portion thereof to aharness or other support worn by the user and releasable strap or tiemeans for attaching it at a lower portion thereof to the users leg.

The terms upper portion and lower portion are used above and with thefollowing description to mean portions of the carrier which are disposedone above another in relation to the users body when he is, so to speak,wearing the carrier, when the detachable securing means is at aboutwaist level.

According to the invention such a load carrier has a leg strap or tiewhich is so fastened in use that when the means for securing the carrierdetachably at an upper portion thereof are released, the leg strap ortie is automatically released also.

The leg strap or tie may have means for engaging it with a portion ofthe detachable securing means which is on the carrier or a portion ofsaid means which is on the harness or other support worn by the user, orwith both said portions, in such manner as to be held securely therebyexcept when said portions are separated from one another.

Preferably the means for securing the load carrier at an upper portionthereof to the users harness or other support are utilised to securedetachably one end of the leg strap or tie and the carrier has at alower portion thereof a loop or eye and also at a lower portion thereofa buckle or other fastening for the leg strap or tie towards its otherend, the arrangement being such that in wear the leg strap or tieextends downwardly from the detachable securing means and freely throughthe loop or eye, around the users leg(s) to the buckle or otherfastening and such that by undoing only the detachable securing meansthe carrier is freed to fall, upper part foremost, from the wearer andin so doing, by virtue of the buckle or other fastening, withdraw theleg strap or tie through the loop or eye on the carrier and clear theusers leg(s).

A parachutists load carrier with a leg strap or tie in accordance withone form of the invention is illustrated by the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings which are not to scale and of which:

FIGURE 1 shows the carrier without the leg strap, laid out fiat facedownwards.

FIGURE 2 shows the leg strap or tie,

FIGURE 3 shows how the leg strap or tie is disposed in use, and

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged detail views showing the fastening of astrap, an attachment plate for the carrier, and a leg strap attachmentring, respectively.

FIGURE 7 is a view in perspective illustrating the carrier whencompletely packed.

FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 schematically illustrate the sequence of operationof the carrier release as it is disconnected from the harnessattachment.

As shown in FIGURE 1 the carrier comprises two pairs of webbing straps11, 11 and 12, 12 which cross one another at right angles and aresecured together by stitching. These straps have D-rings 13, 13 and 14,14, respectively, for use in conjunction with corresponding retainingpins 15, 15 and 16, 16, respectively, which are attached thereto bycords, for fastening the straps around a load. For such fastening eachstrap is folded upon itself, at a point remote from its D-ring end, topresent a bight which is passed upwardly through the correspondingD-ring and then has the corresponding retaining pin inserted through itat the upper side of the ring, the strap being then pulled tight so thatby virtue of the resulting tension in the strap the free-end side of thebight is gripped between the pin and one side of the D-ring as shown inFIGURE 4 where the free end portion of the strap is indicated at 11*.

Above and below the straps 12, 12 the straps 11, 11 are joined bytransverse straps 17, 17 of which the upper is secured by stitching andthe lower is looped around and slidable along the straps 11, 11, and thestraps 12, 12 are similarly provided with fixed and adjustabletransverse straps 18, 18; the free ends of the straps 11, 11 and 12, 12being thickened, by being folded upon themselves several times and thenstitched, to prevent loss of the slidable transverse straps 17 and 18.

Two further lengths of webbing are bent each upon itself tosubstantially V-shaped and stitched to the overlapping parts of the mainstraps 11, 11 and 12, 12 so as to provide two strongly secured loops 19and 20 for the attachment, to whichever of them may be convenient inuse, of the usual suspension rope (not shown) by which the carrier issupported from the parachute harness (not shown) some distance below theparachutist during a drop after the carrier has itself been releasedfrom its direct attachment to the harness. Also, a tubular fabric pocket21 with press fasteners 22 is provided for stowage of the suspensionrope prior to such detachment of the carrier.

At the upper junctions of the straps 11, 11 and 12, 12 are secured twoapertured, keyhole shaped attachment plates 23, 23 for engagement withmeans on a parachute harness (not shown) for securing them detachably tothe harness. One of these attachment plates is shown separately inFIGURE 5 for the sake of clearness.

The leg strap (see FIGURES 2, 3 and 6) is formed from webbing with amain portion 24 and two branches 25, 25 and which have rigid oval metalrings 26, 26 attached to their free ends. Each of the rings 26 is formedwith an integral flat tongue 27 (FIGURE 6) which by being sandwichedbetween the overlapped and stitched webbing at the end of thecorresponding branch 25 ensures that the ring extends beyond, and cannotbe folded back fiat upon, the end of the branch 25. The rings 26, 26 areof such size and shape that they can pass very loosely and freely overthe attachment plates 23, 23 of the carrier.

A loop 28 located at the lower part of the carrier is formed from apiece of fabric which is folded and rolled upon itself to have flat endportions which are stitched to the straps 11, 11 and to the lower strap12, therebetween, and an intermediate bowed portion which is ofsubstantially circular cross-section and large enough to give easypassage, between it and the strap 12, to the leg strap branches 25, 25and the rings 26, 26 at the ends thereof. One branch 25 is madesufficiently shorter than the other in order to ensure that in use theone ring 26 will not become engaged with the other and in consequencenot pass freely through, or even become jammed or wedged in, the loop28, which latter, incidentally, is useful as a carrying handle for theloaded carrier. The flat end portions of the fabric of the loop 28extend each a short distance beyond the corresponding straps 11, 11 andthese extensions which are not stitched to the lower strap 12 havesecured thereto, respectively, two buckles 29, 29 of conventionalfriction grip type by means of one or other of which as may beconvenient, the main portion 24 of the leg strap is secured detachablyto the carrier.

In use (see FIGURE 3), the leg strap having been detached from whichever of the buckles 29, 29 bywhich it may already be'secured to thecarrier, and the straps '11, 11 and 12, 12 having been secured around aload (not shown), the rings 26, 26 of the leg strap branches are passedover the attachment plates 23, 23 of the carrier and the latter areengaged with the detachable securing means on the parachutists harness(not shown). The upper end of a suspension rope (not shown) stowed inthe pocket 21 is secured in the usual way'to the harness, and the mainpart24 of the leg strap is passed downwardly through the loop 28,rearwardly between the parachutists legs, around his thigh and forwardlyto which ever of the buckles 29, 22 is the more convenient in anyparticular case and fastened by said buckle to the lower portion of thecarrier. In this way the carrier is held down against the parachutistuntil it is released to fall to the end of the suspension rope. In orderto effect such release and fall it is only necessary for the'parachutistto operate the detachable securing means of the parachute harness torelease the attachment plates 23, 23, for the leg strap rings 26, 26 canthereupon easily and freely move clear of said plates 23, 23. When suchrelease is effected the carrier will fall, upper part foremost, firstoutwardly and then downwardly away from the parachutist, the leg strap(remaining attached to the carrier by the buckle 29) pulling on histhigh with no more force than is required to pull the rings 26, 26 clearof the attachment plates 23, 23, and the branches 25, 2'5 and said rings26, 26 through and clear of the loop 28.

Now that the general operation of the carrier device has been described,a more detailed description will be set forth with reference to FIGURES7-10.

The present invention relates to means for making a plurality ofseparate articles or a single article into a parcel which can beattached in the requisite firm Way to a parachutist in preparation for ajump; Once the jump has been accomplished and the parachutists canopyhas deployed and inflated fully to support him in his descent, theparachutist will wait until he is about 100 feet above ground level andthen he will cause the parcel to be released so as to fall away from himbut the parcel will remain connected to him by a lanyard or suspensionrope.

The most obvious use of the present invention is the landing byparachute of troops, each man carrying for example, his own supply ofammunition and a small-arms I carbine. The clips of bullets and thecarbine would be made into a parcel employing a canvas wrapping sheetand the two pairs of straps ll, 11, 12, 12, which would then besuspended from two quick-release devices on the parachute harness beingworn by the parachutist. Such quick release devices 30 (FIGURES 8, 9,are already well-known and could consist for example of the hookconnectors which we disclosed in United States'patent specification No.2,276,628, in the name of J. R. C. Quilter. Once the parcel is suspendedfrom said quick release devices 30, the leg strap 24 is passed from thefront to the back between the legs and is then brought around one leg 32towards the front and fastened to the nearest buckle 29 (see also FIGURE3). It will be appreciated that before the attachment plates 23 aredetachably secured to the quick-release devices 30, the rings 26 must belocated in engagement with said plates 23 in the manner indicated inFIGURE 3 and also in FIGURE 7. The leg strap is tightened up by pullingthe free end 31 to provide an infinite number of settings thereof.

When the parachutist has dropped away from the aircraft and when hiscanopy has become fully deployed and is therefore supporting him, allthat the parachutist has to do in order to release the parcel is toactuate the hook connectors to allow the parcel (to which the attachmentplates 23 are secured) to fall outwardly, initially, away from theparachutists body (see FIGURE 9). Simultaneously with such outwardmovement of the parcel, the rings 26 also become disengaged from theplates 23 and this immediately results in a slackening of the tensionexerted by the strap 24 upon the parachutists thigh. As the descent ofparachutist and parcel continues the parcel begins to fall downwardlyand outwardly (see FIGURE 10) and it has been found in the course ofhundreds of jumps using this equipment that the two limbs 25 of the legstrap fall and/or are pulled downwardly and cleanly through the loop 28before the parcel has moved very far downwardly relatively to theparachutist (see FIGURE 10). Thus, the parachutist is never in anydanger from having his leg trapped in the loop formed by the strap 24and one of the straps 25 with the result that the load drops freely awayfrom the parachutist to the limit of the suspension rope or lanyard.

It will be appreciated that in the case of a carrier having a leg strapor tie whose releasable attachment is separate or independent of thedirect releasable attachment of the upper portion of the carrier to theharness, there is some risk that the separate operation required torelease it may be overlooked. Further, if the leg strap or tie isreleased there is some risk that the carrier may swing upwardly aboutsaid direct attachment at its upper part, which is undesirable. If theleg strap or tie is not released at the same time, as, or almostimmediately after, the direct attachment is released, the leg strapattachment may become jammed or stiff by the full weight of the carrierthen exerted on it and the position of the carrier when supported by theleg strap or tie alone may render in diflicult or even impossible forthe parachutist to reach and release it thus involving him inconsiderable danger when he reaches the ground. Moreover, in the case ofa heavily loaded carrier the sudden application of its full weight,swinging about its attachment by the leg strap or tie to theparachutists leg, may inflict serious injury or even break his leg. Acarrier and leg strap or tie according to the invention is not onlysimple to use but is extremely foolproof and safe. 4

I claims 1. In a device for making a package of articles for connectionto a parachute harness worn by airflight personnel, in combination twopairs of straps, the straps of each pair being spaced apart from andlaid substantially parallel to one another, one of said pairs of strapsextend ing in a direction normal to that in which the other extends;means secured to a pair of adjacent ends of the straps of each pair ofstraps to permit each pair of straps to be secured about said articles;a loop secured to a strap of one ofv said pairs in the region betweenthe points of intersection of said strap with the straps of the other ofsaid pairs of straps; a pair of fastening devices located adjacent saidpoints of intersection; an attachment device secured to each of thestraps between which said secured loop extends, said attachment devicesbeing secured to said strap which is laid parallel to the strap whichcarries said loop; a leg strap, said leg strap being bifurcated at oneend; an annulus secured to the free end of each limb of the bifurcationfor engagement with one of said attachment devices; said attachmentdevices being inherently adapted for releasable attachment to saidparachute harnessand said leg strap being securable about a leg of saidairfllght personnel by that end of said. leg strap which is remote fromsaid bifurcation being held by one of said pair of fastening devices.

2. In a device for connection of a package of articles to a parachuteharness worn by airflight personnel, in combination a first strap and asecond strap secured to one another to form a leg strap; said firststrap being of a length far greater than that of said second strap andsaid second strap being secured to said first strap at a point such thatone of the adjacent free portions of the first and second straps isshorter than the other; an annulus 5 6 carried by each of the free endsof said free portions; a device including a plate portion so made as todefine an pair of attachment devices, a fastening device and a loopaperture engageable by a quick-release device secured to carried by andsecured to said package; said loop being said parachute harness. of suchsize as to permit the passage freely therethrough of said free portionsof said first and second straps and 5 R f mt s Cited in the file of thispatent the associated annuli; each annulus being of such size as topermit the extension therethrough of a part of an at UNITED STATESPATENTS tachment device; said fastening device being so made as 9 1Smith et y 18, 1961 to permit that end of said first strap which isremote from the annulus to be firmly engaged thereby in an in- 10FOREIGN PATENTS finite number of settings; said part of each attachment1,200,230 France June 29, 1959

1. IN A DEVICE FOR MAKING A PACKAGE OF ARTICLES FOR CONNECTION TO APARACHUTE HARNESS WORN BY AIRFLIGHT PERSONNEL, IN COMBINATION TWO PAIRSOF STRAPS, THE STRAPS OF EACH PAIR BEING SPACED APART FROM AND LAIDSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER, ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF STRAPSEXTENDING IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO THAT IN WHICH THE OTHER EXTENDS;MEANS SECURED TO A PAIR OF ADJACENT ENDS OF THE STRAPS OF EACH PAIR OFSTRAPS TO PERMIT EACH PAIR OF STRAPS TO BE SECURED ABOUT SAID ARTICLES;A LOOP SECURED TO A STRAP OF ONE OF SAID PAIRS IN THE REGION BETWEEN THEPOINTS OF INTERSECTION OF SAID STRAP WITH THE STRAPS OF THE OTHER SAIDPAIRS OF STRAPS; A PAIR OF FASTENING DEVICES LOCATED ADJACENT SAIDPOINTS OF INTERSECTION; AN ATTACHMENT DEVICE SECURED TO EACH OF THESTRAPS BETWEEN WHICH SAID SECURED LOOP EXTENDS, SAID ATTACHMENT DEVICESBEING SECURED TO SAID STRAP WHICH IS LAID PARALLEL TO THE STRAP WHICHCARRIES SAID LOOP; A LEG STRAP, SAID LEG STRAP BEING BIFURCATED AT ONEEND; AN ANNULUS SECURED TO THE FREE END OF EACH LIMB